Dallas Ponder delivers again on the mound for Javelinas in win

Junior strikes out 7 in win over St. Cloud

TODD YATES/CALLER-TIMES
Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball coach Jason Gonzales and the Javelinas open the season this weekend at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

CORPUS CHRISTI - The mantra issued to Texas A&M-Kingsville right-hander Dallas Ponder is to perform at a level sufficient enough to provide the Javelinas with an opportunity to win a ballgame.

So far, Ponder is two for two on that proposition.

In his second stellar outing, the junior allowed three singles and struck out seven through seven innings. The Javelinas were able to nick St. Cloud (Minn.) State right-hander Scott Lieser for two runs in the fifth inning on RBI hits from Cash Barker and Ben Villafuerte to beat the Huskies 2-0 in the inaugural Holiday Inn Emerald Beach South Texas Baseball Classic Friday night at Whataburger Field.

"Everything was working tonight," said Ponder, who threw 94 pitches, 64 for strikes. "I just felt good with all my pitches. I was spotting up, making all the pitches I could."

Ponder (2-0) was coming off a two-hit, six-inning performance last week when the Javelinas defeated fourth-ranked Central Missouri 4-1 at the Astros In Action Division II Invitational. He matched that effort against the Huskies, who were making their season debut and were playing outside for the first time this season. Ponder walked only one and Denver Diefenbach faced the minimum during the final two innings to earn his second save.

"He's pitched like a No. 1, like an ace. We tell him all the time that all we need him to do is just give our team a chance to win," said coach Jason Gonzales, whose Javelinas improved to 4-1. "He's gone up against some very good arms on the other side. What he's been able to do is match that guy zero to zero and allow our hitters to kind of settle in a figure out the other guy. He's just throwing the ball really, really well right now."

The Javelinas broke the duel between Ponder and Lieser by getting to the St. Cloud ace in the fifth. Travis Laird led off with a single, just the second hit off Lieser. James Black, who had a stellar game defensively at third base with seven assists, sacrificed Laird to second. Barker's opposite-field single to right gave the Javelinas a 1-0 lead.

Joe Tallerine reached on an error before Villafuerte, a Carroll-ex, laced an RBI single to left for a 2-0 lead. The Javelinas left the bases loaded but that was plenty of help for Ponder.

"I was telling coach Gonzales that it was 86 degrees here a week and a half ago and it was 46 below in St. Cloud," said Pat Dolan, who coached the Huskies to a 48-14 record and runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Central Region. "It was a helluva ballgame. That first pitcher they had, well both of them, it was a heckuva game. We left the window open there a little bit in that one inning and against a good team that what happens. But I'd rather be out here playing and losing than not playing at all."

Lieser suffered the loss, going five innings and scattering four hits before St. Cloud closer Chris Kubitz mopped up with three one-hit innings.

SE (OKLA.) ST. 9, LOYOLA-NO 6

The opener was delayed 65 minutes because the umpires were late and it took even longer for Southeastern (Okla.) State to assert itself. The Savage Storm pushed across three runs in the seventh inning to beat Loyola-New Orleans from the NAIA, improving to 2-0 on the season.

The Savage Storm, which stranded eight runners in the first four innings, put an end to what had been a back-and-forth tussle in the seventh, scoring on two hits, an error and a passed ball. Travis Caraway walked, and went to third when Evan Ramsey's sacrifice bunt was thrown wildly to first by Wolf Pack catcher Bradley Brunet. Caraway scored two pitches later on a passed ball and Ramsey scored an out later when Chevis Springer legged out a double off Kevin Lindsey (0-1). Ryan Salter, who had four of SEO's 14 hits, drove in Springer with a single.